“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which
through the summer is not heard or seen.” - Percy Bysshe Shelley
With the arrival tomorrow of the fall equinox, when night and day
are the same length across the world, thoughts must turn to our
gloriious trees, as nature prepares to put on a brilliant show of color.
Here in central Texas we will never have a New England fall, but
there are some native and adaptive trees you can choose that are
guaranteed to add a dramatic splash of color to your landscape in
upcoming months. Here's a selection of some of my favorites:
Chinquapin Oak: This great oak grows to 30 to 50 feet in height
by 20 to 40 feet in width and has broad serrated leaves that turn a
bronzy-red in the fall. As long as this tree has good drainage, it
can grow in a variety of soils including caliche, limestone and clay.
The red (or Spanish) oak: This deciduous oak grows 50 feet tall
and 50 feet wide and has a brilliant display of yellow-red color
in the fall. Fast growing, this red oak is adaptable to a wide range
of soils, but grows the best in deeper soils. A smaller version (25
by 25) grows in the hill country - the ‘hill country’ red oak.
Bald Cypress: This native tree has rapid growth to 50 feet and can
tolerate wet conditions and dry locations. Its feathery foliage turns
a coppery-bronze color in the fall.
Crepe Myrtles: These summer flowering trees can make a colorful
statement in the fall. They show colors ranging from yellow to
orange to red.
Chinese Pistache: This medium-sized tree with pinnately-compound
leaves (like pecan), turns a brilliant orange-red in the fall. This tree
has few insect pests and thrives in most locations and soil types.
Bradford Pear: This spring flowering ornamental non-bearing pear
tree displays beautiful foliage in the fall, with golden-orange to red-
mahogany.
Bigtooth Maple: The tree of the Lost Maples state park in Vander-
pool. It grows 20 to 50 feet high and 25 feet wide and is one of the
few maples that can tolerate our alkaline soils. The bigtooths show
spectacular hues of scarlet, gold, orange, yellow, and burgundy.
Seeing them in the canyons of the park is really worth the trip. To
check out their color progress and to plan a trip, visit this website:
Also two native shrubs to look for that reward greatly with fall color
are flameleaf sumac and rusty blackhaw viburnum. Both these natives
grow to 10 to 12 feet. The sumac exhibits burgundy foliage, while the
viburnum foliage turns orange to red.
Happy fall gardening everyone!
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